Our Story

I think its safe to say we like boats, we seem to spend a lot of our time in, around or out on them. Boats are one of the oldest forms of human transport, and there is something about them that captures the hearts of many.

We are Simon, Mary and Nate Sparrow and live at the boatyard on our barge 'Misterton'. Simon worked in IT for 25 years before deciding on a change in direction and Mary was the head teacher of a large secondary school before joining the boatyard full time. Nate has only ever lived on a boat and likes to help with various aspects of the yard operation. 

Hippersons is a long established business, it grew out of a general engineering operation setup before the second world war. Captain Barker took over in 1955, and built a variety of boat classes for the broads along with his wife. During this time the yard was based in 'Puddingmoor' in Beccles.

The Harrison family bought Hippersons in 1970 and continued to build boats until the mid-1980s - many of these are still cruising the Broads today.  During the early 1980s, they acquired and developed the site at Gillingham Dam. This included draining the marshland and dredging the mooring basin.

We run the boatyard to support two businesses that mutually coexist supporting the life of the river. The first part of the business is all about boat repairs, maintenance and hard staining for the winter. As boat dwellers we aim to give a service to all boat owners that we would expect ourselves. We employ a boat builder and a boat engineer, and are able to carry out most boat work on site with our own staff. Our staff love looking after you boats.

The second part of the business is all about boat holidays, by the river, on the river and exploring the river. You can choose from five floating houseboats, or a land based glamping pod with its own hot tub, to have your own Swallows and Amazons holiday from. All come with the use of private row boat, and you can add more nautical experiences to explore the River Waveney further afield. We offer guided canoe and kayak tours with our instructor Stephen, self drive day boat hire and a romantic pedal boat for two. We are also the only place in Beccles to offer Stand Up Paddle board lessons. We are delighted that our small, family, independent holiday location has been awarded Visit England Gold, Trip Advisor Travellers choice 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 and we also have achieve Green Tourism Silver.

Hippersons is a wonderful place to bring the river to life, whether you are a first timer, or you return again and again to our wonderful yard, we can’t wait to welcome you.